My people! Good day! I hope all you guys are having a fabulous Hump Day. Today, I'd like to show you photos of the antique Austrian pharmacy or apothecary that is installed at my shop, here in Cape Town.
It is a bonafide pharmacy straight out of the 1880's. It was purchased from an antique dealer in Belgium, but originates in Austria. As you see it in these images, is how it would have been all those years ago.
The only additions or restorations we have done are the new white marble tops, and the green and blue coloured glass. We have also just repainted its wooden floor, as it was getting holes in from the traffic.
The glass bottles and medicine jars are all original, and some even have some strange powders in them still. To be honest I have never opened any, for fear of inhaling some hundred year old heroin. You know how they rolled back in the day. 😁😁
We have people who come to visit our shop just to see the old pharmacy. It really is quite special, especially as we bought it intact, with the original floor, shelving and bottles. Sometimes I think I have become so accustomed to seeing it that I don't notice it's beauty anymore, but then I just take a walk through it and notice small things like the cracked vinyl on the shelves, and the beautiful Art Nouveau flower design on the front of the counters.
Tomorrow I am meeting with a potential buyer, who may take the entire unit. I would be so sad to lose this piece, but that is the nature of this business. We buy and sell beautiful things. Sometimes I become attached to items, but then I realise that the person who is buying the piece will get much more joy and use out of it than I would. I am always astounded to see where and how my clients out the items to use that they buy from me. Some of the ideas are creatively out of this world.
So, I will update you all tomorrow on the result of my meeting. If it is sold, it will feel like the end of an era for me. As the years tick by, more and more irreplaceable antiques pass through my hands. That is the beauty of my trade. We see and handle so many gorgeous pieces. I love to look through my "SOLD" folders on my computer and reminisce on all the timeless items I have bought and sold. It is quite a joyful job - to learn about furniture, lights and antiques, to learn to identify the different periods by the unique design characteristics each age has, and to pass that knowledge onto clients who often become friends. I am very fortunate to say that I love my job.